Improved ledtt-deimg house



2 Shets-Sheet 1.

1 F. WINCHELL.

l Fruit Drier.

No. 61,130. Patented 1an. 8, 1867.

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J. F. WINCHELL.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Fruit Drier.

No. 61,130. Patented )anl 8, 1867.

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@geiten tatrs uteut @frn JAMES F. WINOIIELL, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELFAND GEORGE C. STEELE.

Letters Patent No. 61,130, dated January/'8, 1867.

IMPROVED FRUIT-DRYING HOUSE.

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To ALL WHoM IT MAY ooNcERN; *A

Be it known that I, JAMES F. WINCHELL, of Springfield, Clark county, Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Fruit-Drying Houses; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and` exactA description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever they occur.

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section.

Figure-2, a transverse horizontal section.

FigureS, a longitudinal vertical section.

Figures 4, 5, and`6, views of portions detached. y

My invention consists in a novel construction of the heating apparatus, and of the drawers for holding the fruit, and inthe special arrangement of valves for controlling the heat and permitting the escape of the moisture evaporated from the fruit during the process of drying.

I construct a small building or house, A, of any suitable size and material, having a series of slats, h, arranged horizontally along each side, on which to place the drawers D. In the bottom of the house A is placed a furnace, B, surrounded with a hot-air chamber, C, having holes a in the bottom and sides, as shown in tig. 1, for the admission of cold air, which, when heated by the furnace B, escapes through openings Z1, in the top of said hot-air chamber, as indicated by the arrows, this heated air circulating through the slatted bottoms of the drawers D among the fruit placed thereon. Near the top of the roofv is 4placed ahorizontal partition, T, as

shown in gs. 1 and 3, having a serlies of openings, n, which are opened or closed at pleasure by a slideor register, F, having a series of corresponding openings, o. The gable ends are left open above the-partition T, as represented at G. By these'means the moisture which is evaporated from the fruit in the early stages of the drying process is permitted to escape into the air. A A pipe, H, is attached to the rear end of the furnace, and asccnds outside of the building, as shown clearlyl in fig. 3. At about one-third of its height this pipe H is connected by pipes on each side with a horizontal flue, E, extending entirely around on the'inside of the house, as representedin fig'. 2. At the point where this lue E connects with the pipe H by the side pipes d, a valve, m, is located in the pipe I-I, as represented in iig.' 4. By turning this valve m, as there represented, the heat and smoke arising in the pipe II will be deflected into the tube d on one side, and passing thence around through the ilue E, and through the opposite tube d, back into pipe H, above the valve m, and then escape at the top of H. By this arrangement the heat, which would otherwise escape, may be utilized in a very perfect manner, and at the same time, by simply turning the valve zit, the heat may be regulated as desired. The drawersD consist of the ordinary side-pieces,lhaving slats e nailed or Votherwise secured to the bottoms, and,l1ave small vertical strips or blocks, t, secured to their inner back ends, as represented in ig. 6, to serve as guides when sliding onthe slats z, the slats being lattached at each end to theposts L, at the corners of 'the-house, as represented in lig. 2. By these means I avoid the necessity of rabbeting either the edge of the drawers or of theA slats-7i in order to guide them and prevent their slipping'otr the slats when being shoved in or drawn out. In order to dry small fruits like cui-rants, berries, Stic., I provide a wire-gauze bottom, p, as represented in iigs. 5 and (i. These bottoms j; are made removable, and simplyre'st von the slats e; they are made of such a size as to only partially cover the bottom of the drawer, andare provided at one edge with a vertical bar, Z, of proper length to lit in the drawer, as shown in gs. 5 and (i. When small fruit is dried it covers the bottom of the drawcrsmorc closely tlian the larger fruit, and hence does not permit a free circulation of the h otair up through the drawers and thefruit. For this reason I make the removable bottoms less in width than the drawers, and arrange them alternately on opposite sides, as represented in iig. 6, by which means a portion of the bottom of each drawer is left more open to permit the ascent and free circulation of the hot air. These removable bottoms p, if made of wire, should be galvanized to prevent their being rusted.or otherwise affected by the moisture and juice of the fruit. If preferred, these bottomsfp maybe made ot perforated zinc, or of wood or twine; but the galvanizedA wirev I deem best tted for 'the use. When not required for use, these bottoms p may be lifted out and laid aside. `I are doors covering one entire end.

Having thus described my intention, what I claim, is-

1. I claim a dry-house constructed substantially as described, and' having the pipeH with its valve m and the return flue E combined and arranged for joint operation, as herein described.

2. 4I'claim the removable bottoms p, constructed of wire gauze orv its equivalent, arranged to bc used in connection with the drawers D, substantially as herein set forth.

3. I claim providing thedrawers D-with the guide-pieces t, as shown and described.

JAMES r. WINCHELL.

Witnesses:

D. A. HARRISON, M. MOHKUN. 

